{"id":11946,"date":"2012-02-23T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=11946"},"modified":"2012-02-22T19:06:03","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T01:06:03","slug":"repent-but-dont-forget-to-rejoice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/02\/repent-but-dont-forget-to-rejoice\/","title":{"rendered":"Repent, but don’t forget to Rejoice"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rejoice,<\/a>

Rejoice, that we are wonderfully made, even from dust!<\/p><\/div>\n

The season of Lent<\/a> is here! And with Lent comes prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Note that pouting, grumbling, and complaining are not part of our Lenten trio. In fact in yesterday\u2019s Gospel, Jesus teaches<\/a> his disciples to pray, fast,and give alms in private so that only our Heavenly Father will see. During this time of year we are called to focus on our weaknesses, repent of our sins, build ourselves up through our various Lenten practices, and rejoice that God gives us this opportunity to improve ourselves.<\/p>\n

True rejoicing in God\u2019s mercy, even as we contemplate and prepare ourselves for the Triduum, is certainly not an excuse to pull out the \u201cI\u2019m holier than you\u201d card. If you talk about what you\u2019re sacrificing or doing for Lent, don\u2019t try to one-up another person, or put down another\u2019s goals. Let Our Heavenly Father see what we give Him in the private space of our hearts. As we look to our Saint-models, they certainly don\u2019t boast (except in the Lord!) or take credit for their good works on their own merit, but humbly admit that it is not them but God who works through them. Rejoice in all the Lenten seasons that have built you up to the person you are today, and rejoice in the onset of another opportunity for growth!<\/p>\n

Pope Benedict\u2019s message<\/a> for this Lent is titled \u201cLet us be concerned for each other,\u00a0to stir a response in love and good works\u201d (Heb 10:24). In it, he states that \u201cwe should never be incapable of \u2018showing mercy\u2019 towards those who suffer. Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor.\u201d Let us, even in this time of personal sacrifice and slowing, rejoice in God\u2019s blessings on us. Can your Lenten increase in prayer and almsgiving go to benefit the least fortunate in our midst? Pope Benedict also discusses the need to not just be physically concerned, but also spiritually concerned with others, to correct and encourage others \u201cin a spirit of humility and charity.\u201d If you have a great grasp of our Catholic faith, rejoice in the wisdom that the Holy Spirit has given you, and see if there\u2019s a way you can share that knowledge this Lent! If you have a lot more to learn about our great faith, look up some educational opportunities available at your parish or nearby parishes, and invite others to come with you, or read a book on our faith.<\/p>\n

This Lent let us build God\u2019s flame in us and let that flame ignite others as well. Let us rejoice, even as we are praying, fasting, and giving alms, because our Heavenly Father chose to create us from dust. Let us rejoice, for at the end of this season of Lent is the cross, but also, the empty tomb.<\/p>\n

Halo Tip #1: Learn more about the almsgiving aspect of Lent (with Joy!) <\/object><\/p>\n

Halo Tip #2: OK this is not exactly Lent-related but does point out how joy is such a wonderful part of our faith. So the Pope created some new Cardinals this week, including Cardinal Dolan of New York. Cardinal Dolan is awesome for many reasons. But here are two of my favorites from this week. First, he pointed out that while it is a great honor to be a Cardinal, what he\u2019s really aspiring to is to be a saint<\/a>. In this way we are no different from this new prince of the Church.<\/p>\n

Secondly, Cardinal Dolan was allowed to bring two people to the consistory ceremony and one of the people he brought was his mother. He jokingly asked the Pope if his mom could be the \u201cfirst lady\u201d of the College of Cardinals. The Pope replied<\/a> that his mom looked \u201ctoo young to be the mother of a Cardinal\u201d! This conversation is a great example of how even in a ceremony and meeting of great significance, our humor can allow us to share joy, a smile, and ultimately resonate with the Spirit of Christ in our hearts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The season of Lent is here! And with Lent comes prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Note that pouting, grumbling, and complaining are not part of our Lenten trio. In fact in yesterday\u2019s Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, fast,and give alms in private so that only our Heavenly Father will see. During this time of… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[50,618,591,74],"class_list":["post-11946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","tag-faith","tag-joy","tag-lent","tag-prayer","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t